Sunday, January 21, 2007

Snowy Seven Miler

Jo and I ran seven miles in a snowstorm this morning. It was 18 degrees and we have a Snow Advisory all day. It was snowing pretty hard throughout the entire run, making it difficult to keep our eyes open. We continuously found it necessary to clean the icecicles off of our eyebrows and eyelashes, and our clothes were coated in snow.
The route was a very hilly one, relative to the topography of our city, which added to the difficulty with instability. In several areas there were no sidewalks, so we were forced to run in the street which posed it's own set of difficulties. Jo and I always have issues with inconsiderate drivers during our training runs, and today was no different. When forced to run in the street, we always run against oncoming traffic, as is recommended for safety. The problem with this is that some people aim for you. And I'm not joking. We've been run off of the road into ditches numerous times when (usually pickup trucks) vehicles actually turn towards us and veer into the shoulder....usually accompanied by an upward-turned middle finger, musical horn playing Dixie, or shout of choice words.
If you someday read an article or hear a news piece about a runner who was intentionally run down or jumped and beaten by a motorist....well, it's most likely me. You see, Jo and I always wave, smile, or otherwise acknowlege considerate drivers who move over and/or slow down when passing us on the roadway. That said, we (okay, mostly me) also fight the good fight and stand up for road runners everywhere when someone is not considerate and endangers us on a run. If someone speeds by without moving over at all or inches towards us because it bothers them that we are running on their street I yell and/or offer up various not-so-polite gestures. Today, for example, a car came close enough to me on a snow-covered road that I could easily touch their window. And I was in the shoulder. I yelled, I swore, I tossed out fingers.... in the name of runners rights.
So, if you ever hear of a runner who was run down or chased by an angry motorist who was on the receiving end of my tirade, it's probably yours truly. And runners all over the globe with cheer me and forever call me their hero.
Their beaten and/or squashed hero, but hero nonetheless

1 comment:

Jo said...

um...by the way...we need to discuss our training plan. 16 weeks starts Monday. :)